The French judicial system was gripped with soul-searching after an unemployed mother told a small town court she had made up accusations of pedophilia that shattered the lives of 13 adult defendants -- some of whom were jailed for up to three years.
Many French newspapers bumped down major news about Iraq or the Middle East on Thursday to lead with reports of fabricated tales by Myriam Delay, a defendant who stunned a courtroom in northern Outreau two days earlier by saying she lied by accusing 13 of the 17 adults on trial.
"The Outrage of Outreau," read the banner headline of Liberation daily.
The trial, which is continuing despite Delay's admissions, began on May 4 on allegations that 18 adults -- including a priest and a baker -- had carried out group rapes of children in an Outreau housing project between 1995 and 2000.
In court on Tuesday, a teary-eyed Delay turned to one of the defendants -- baker Roselyne Godard -- and said: "You did nothing. I am sick, a liar. I lied about it all."
Delay, a mother of five who says she was abused by her own father while growing up in Algeria, then said the same to each of the other 12 defendants who have denied the charges.
The court threw out appeals by seven of eight defendants for provisional release after Delay's testimony.
One defendant held since May 2001, Sandrine Legrand, 27, was provisionally freed. Family members of the others clamored for their immediate release.
The case, involving allegations of rape, torture and bestiality, has ripped apart the lives of the defendants. One of the original 18 defendants committed suicide while behind bars, while others have lost custody of their children.
During the trial, a kindergarten teacher testified about her suspicions about mistreatment of children after a six-year-old in late 2000 told stories of abuse in the Delay home.
Delay, her husband Thierry Delay, and a couple of neighbors -- Aurelie and David Delplaque -- had admitted to the charges while under questioning by investigators, officials said.
The other 13 defendants have denied the charges. More than 100 witnesses, police officers, doctors and some of the 18 alleged victims -- aged 3 to 18 at the time -- are to appear for the six-week trial.
Justice Minister Dominique Perben defended the justice system on Thursday, saying the trial must not discredit children's testimony, though he acknowledged that the case raises questions about the way investigators collect accounts from young victims of pedophilia.
"These are classic procedures of our justice system that have worked," he said. "It's not because there is a problem that we go from saying `we must listen to the child' to today, `we must not listen.'"
"Maybe it's necessary to ask ourselves about how to listen," Perben told a gathering of young lawyers in Paris.
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